Existing Conditions

Chapter Two: Existing Conditions

DOWNTOWN VILLAGE SPECIFIC PLAN 5 2 Existing Conditions

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the existing conditions in the Downtown Village Specific Plan area. This chapter is organized as follows:

2.1 Specific Plan Area 2.2 Regional and City Context 2.3 Existing Development and Land Use 2.4 Existing Zoning 2.5 Economic Context

Figure 2.1: Specific Plan Area in the City of La Cañada Flintridge

6 CITY OF LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE Existing Conditions

2.1 Specific Plan Area

The Downtown Village Specific Plan consists of approximately 95 acres located near the center of the City of La Cañada Flintridge (Figure 2.1). The Specific Plan area is bounded by the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) to the north, Foothill Boulevard to the south, La Cañada Boulevard to the northwest, and the Crown Avenue/freeway off-ramp intersection at Foothill Boulevard to the southeast. The Specific Plan area also includes all non-residential ANGELES properties fronting on the south side of Foothill Boulevard (Figure 2.2). FOOTHILL FREEWAY

Two sites within the Specific Plan area offer unique opportunities CREST to help initiate the creation of a Downtown Village:

FOOTHILL FOOTHILL

CHEVY • La Cañada Properties, Inc. owns approximately 12 acres along CORN COM Foothill Boulevard at Angeles Crest Highway. This is the largest OAK GOU B LD property under single ownership in the Specific Plan area. It ISHON CHASE EULAH MONWEALTH WOOD is currently being used for residential and commercial purposes, including the Sport Chalet retail store and headquarters office. • Vons Companies owns approximately four acres on Foothill Boulevard between Oakwood Avenue and Rinetti Lane. This site contains Vons within the Plaza de La Cañada. Figure 2.2: Specific Plan Area

These sites are significant due to their prominent size and location on the Boulevard at the western and eastern ends of the Village Center. Equally important is the readiness of the property owners to redevelop and improve the retail businesses on their sites. Both locations offer potential for mixed use development and for open space or civic uses on portions of the sites through public-private partnerships and cooperative opportunities.

DOWNTOWN VILLAGE SPECIFIC PLAN 7 2 Existing Conditions

2.2 Regional and City Context architecture. Residential architecture encompasses these styles, while eastern and western ends of the planning area will be less affected also including designs in Craftsman and Monterey styles. The by the Specific Plan than the core of the planning area between The City of La Cañada Flintridge is located in the foothills of the Design Guidelines and Standards established for the Downtown Angeles Crest Highway and Rinetti Lane. San Gabriel Mountains, adjacent to of the cities of Pasadena and Village Specific Plan are compatible with these existing architectural Glendale. The low-density residential community maintains a small styles that help define and provide identity for the City. Residential uses within the Specific Plan area are concentrated on town atmosphere while being relatively close to downtown Los the north side of Foothill Boulevard, and consist almost entirely Angeles and other urban centers, such as Pasadena, Burbank and of single-family residential development. Twenty-nine of the homes Glendale. Commercial development within the City is almost 2.4 Existing Development and Land Use in this area are owned by La Cañada Properties, Inc., which allows exclusively limited to frontage along Foothill Boulevard, the major significant potential for redevelopment because of common east-west arterial that bisects the Specific Plan area. The existing land uses in the Specific Plan area include a mix of ownership. This residential area is surrounded by the 210 Freeway commercial, office, institutional and residential uses (Table 2.1). to the north and commercial uses to the west, south and east. It Because the City is nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel The majority of land is currently being used for commercial and is considered a transition area as the Downtown changes to a Mountains, there are views of the mountains in all directions civic/public uses. The Sport Chalet headquarters office and retail mixed-use environment. from the Specific Plan area. The views to the north from the stores are located in the Specific Plan area. Foothill Boulevard/Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill Boulevard/ There is minimal undeveloped land available within the Specific Gould Avenue intersections are especially dramatic. The Specific The major institutional uses within the Specific Plan boundaries Plan area; however, several large buildings on Foothill Boulevard Plan topography gradually slopes down from northwest to are located at each end of the planning area. The Foothill are currently vacant and available for reuse or redevelopment. southeast. Intermediate School property is located on the southwest end of the Boulevard and is currently being leased by two private schools. Table 2.1 The Downtown Village Specific Plan area represents the commercial The Flintridge Preparatory School, Valley Water District and St. Existing Land Use in the Downtown Village Specific Plan Area core and serves as the prominent gateway to the City of La Cañada Francis High School are located on the eastern edge of the planning Flintridge. The community wants to see future development in area. These sites remain essentially unaffected by the Specific Plan Land Area Land Area Total Land (square feet) (acres) Area this highly visible area that is economically viable as well as as they are unlikely to change significantly during the planning Retail/Service 1,560,177 35.8 38% compatible with the predominantly low-density residential character period. Several other schools, churches and public utilities and Civic/Public 1,495,346 34.3 36% of the area. facilities are located in the Specific Plan area along Foothill Residential 626,775 14.4 15% Boulevard. Office 431,937 9.9 10% Undeveloped 25,731 0.6 1% Total Land Area 4,139,966 95 100% 2.3 Architectural Context In addition to the major institutional uses at the east and west ends of the Specific Plan area, there are other developments that The City of La Cañada Flintridge contains a diversity of are also unlikely to change significantly during the planning period. architectural styles in its larger public or semi-public structures, Towards the east end of Foothill Boulevard, Ralph’s market has 2.5 Existing Zoning retail architecture and varied residential neighborhoods. Significant recently been remodeled, and the adjacent Trader Joe’s development structures of a larger scale have been designed in styles is relatively new. Several businesses along Foothill Boulevard west The existing zoning in the Specific Plan area is a mix of primarily encompassing references to Spanish, Mission, Spanish Colonial of Angeles Crest Highway have recently upgraded their facades or Community Planned Development (CPD) and Foothill Revival and Italian Renaissance architecture. For example, Flintridge buildings and fulfill the intent of the Downtown Village Specific Community District (FCD). There are also several parcels zoned Sacred Heart Academy is a notable example of Mission style Plan. These recent improvements contribute to the fact that the Public/Semi-Public (PS).

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The purpose of the CPD is to provide appropriately located areas • Foothill Boulevard and Oakwood Avenue - Located at this could support additional retail space. However, nearly half of for retail, service and office uses in the City, while protecting intersection is Plaza de La Cañada, which includes a Vons this space is in general merchandise and building materials stores, adjacent residential properties from the adverse impacts of Supermarket and T.J. Maxx as its anchor tenants. which are typically too large to be supported by the City residents. commercial operations with development standards. The purpose • Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Crest Highway - Located east Potential in the Specific Plan area likely exists for additional of the FCD is to provide for orderly transition of single-family of this intersection is the Sport Chalet cluster, which includes specialty store development and full service restaurants. residential uses to commercial uses. The PS zone is applied to all a ski shop and sporting goods store. This area is also populated public and semi-public owned properties on a site-specific basis. by a number of small retail shops. Based on current incomes, over 200,000 square feet of additional retail space could be supported by City residents, however, as This Specific Plan provides new land use districts for the Downtown Shown in Figure 2.3 are the retail store sales for the City and discussed above, only approximately 100,000 square feet represents Village Specific Plan area to replace the existing zoning. The County. Total per capita retail sales in the City were estimated at tenant types that are likely to locate in the City. It appears that Downtown Village Specific Plan land use districts are designed to $6,000, compared to $5,990 in the County. Other cities in the City residents could support a well-managed, high quality full- assist in the transition from discrete single-family detached region have much higher per capita sales. For instance, Pasadena service restaurant. Other potential areas of demand include small- residential and Foothill Boulevard-fronting commercial uses to a generated sales of $9,930; Burbank, $9,170; and Glendale $7,410. scale specialty stores and home furnishings/interior design shops. true mixed-use environment. Therefore, retail sales in Pasadena were 66% higher, in Burbank 53% higher, and in Glendale nearly 24% higher than in the City. Retail Sales per capita 2.6 Economic Context Each of these cities has a significant mall or regional serving retail Pasadena Burbank $ 9930. $ 9170. center and assorted regional serving retail. Within the City and Glendale A market analysis was prepared for the Downtown Village Specific L.A. County La Cañada $ 7410. Specific Plan area there are relatively few regional retail Average Flintridge Plan in January 2000 that supplements this Specific Plan. This establishments. However, some establishment types do exhibit $ 6000. $ 6000. section highlights the market conditions and opportunities within relatively healthy sales in the City, including apparel stores, specialty the three primary market sectors: retail, office and residential. stores, food stores and eating and drinking establishments. Figure 2.3: Retail Sales per capita 2.6.1 Retail Market Overview and Opportunities Compared to the County of Los Angeles, without regard to income levels, the City is generating adequate retail sales. The Specific The Downtown Village Specific Plan area is the City’s primary Plan area plays a major role in the City’s retail market, as the commercial area and plays a major role in the City’s retail market. Sport Chalet complex, Ralph’s complex and Plaza de La Cañada Retail development in the Specific Plan area is concentrated at a are located there. Of particular importance in the Downtown number of intersections: area are the specialty stores, food stores and eating & drinking establishments. • Foothill Boulevard and Gould Avenue - Located at this intersection are two centers that together constitute a significant Overall, retail sales in the City and Specific Plan area are adequate. community retail center which includes Ralph’s Fresh Faire, Per capita sales levels are similar to the County, but the City has Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Super Crown, Petco, Blockbuster Video much higher income levels than the County. As such, additional and other shop space. demand from City residents is likely not being met by the existing retail inventory in the City. Overall, spending by City residents

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2.6.2 Office Market Overview and Opportunities A common measure of a City’s employment base is the jobs/ Overall, the City is dominated by high value, owner occupied housing balance. Typically, a community will strive for a one-to- residences. In addition, the La Cañada Flintridge area is relatively The office market within Los Angeles County has gradually one mix; thus for each housing unit, there will be one job. In the built out, therefore the development of new single and multi- improved since the early nineties. At that time vacancies were City the mix is approximately 0.7 jobs to each housing unit. In family residential product will continue to be limited. Thus, an extremely high, rents were depressed and new development was contrast, the County of Los Angeles has 1.25 jobs to each housing expanding economy and population, contrasted with a limited nonexistent. Recent improvements in the California economy unit. supply of new housing will generate a sustained rise in demand have spurred new office development throughout the region. for new housing in the area throughout the foreseeable future. While the City is not a large employment center, it does have the La Cañada Flintridge is considered a part of the Tri-Cities market potential to attract office development. Oftentimes, owners of The Specific Plan area is conveniently close to almost all of the area, which is dominated by Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale. small to medium sized businesses prefer to have their business major employment centers of the County and the area has good Within this market area there are approximately 289 office buildings near where they live. The City’s attractive living environment and freeway access. Further, much of the area is within walking distance with a total square footage of nearly 18.9 million square feet. At significant percentage of high income residents makes it likely of neighborhood shopping and city services. The majority of the the end of 1998 the estimated vacancy rate was approximately that a number of small to medium sized businesses would consider Specific Plan area is likely best suited for commercial development. 9.7%.1 The average full service rent in the region was $26.95 per a City location. Residential development is likely to be limited to the area north square foot per year with the low rent near $15.00 per square foot of Foothill Boulevard behind the streetfront commercial and south and the high rent near $33.00 per square foot. 2.6.3 Residential Market Overview and Opportunities of the 210 Freeway between the Angeles Crest Highway and Oakwood Avenue. Currently, this area is developed with older, With the relatively high rents and reasonably low vacancy rates, In general, the City is an extremely desirable area to live within medium density, single-family homes. the first new speculative office buildings in Los Angeles County the region. Currently, there is a high demand to live within the since 1992 are in the Tri-Cities market area. Opening at the end market area, with a limited supply of housing units. While the The housing stock in the City has remained fairly steady over the of 1998, the Media Studio North office project in Burbank included area is known to be somewhat unaffordable, this has not limited past four years. In fact, there has only been approximately 0.7% approximately 215,000 square feet, of which over 60% was pre- the demand for housing. Below is a summary of residential statistics growth in total housing stock during the time period. As growth leased. In addition, there are two projects in Glendale the 401 in the City: has been constrained, the vacancy rate for the City’s housing stock Brand Building, which includes 170,000 square feet and Glendale has remained steady at approximately 3%. This nominal vacancy Plaza, which is 520,000 square feet. level indicates that the area has pent up demand for units. • Nearly 90% of City residents live in a home they own. This compares to a nearly 50/50 split in the County. While the regional office market has improved, it is unlikely to In evaluating the citywide housing stock, single-family, detached significantly impact the demand for office space in the City. In • The median owner-occupied property value is $500,000 in units dominated the housing inventory in 1999. The data reflects general, the City does not have a significant presence of office the City. Comparatively, the median for the County is only the less significant representation of single-family attached products oriented industries. While the percent of overall employment $228,000. such as condominiums. Nearly 6,550 units were single-family within these types of industries is higher in the City than the • While there are few rental properties in the City, the median detached units and 210 units were attached. In summary, 93% of County (example industry types include business services and the rent is much higher at $810 compared to $590 in the County all single-family housing units in the City are detached single- finance, insurance & real estate industries), the actual employment (1990 Census). family homes. numbers still indicate a lack of activity. The number of multi-family residential units in the City is extremely limited. Of the 7,020 total housing units in the City, only 260 are

10 CITY OF LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE Existing Conditions multi-family, or 3.7%. The majority of these residences are in 5+ the development of modern, moderate density single-family unit developments. Since 1995, no additional multi-family housing residential units. product has been developed.

There has been significant fluctuation in the number of single- 1 According to Black’s Guide Winter/Spring 1999. family home sales in recent years in the central portion of the City that includes the Specific Plan area. In 1995 there were 35 sales, while in 1997 there were only 22. Through October 1999 there were 24 sales. The average sales price showed some fluctuation, but has steadily increased throughout the years. In 1999, the average sales price was $644,500, which is 47% higher than the average of $438,300 in 1995. The average size of the house sold in 1999 was much larger than typical, which would have a significant impact on the average sales price. The average price per square foot increased from $207 in 1995 to $264 in 1999, nearly 28%.

When compared to the County, these figures indicate a healthy residential market within the Specific Plan area. The average home sales price in the area is nearly two and a half times the County average. In addition, the average sales price in the County only increased 19% during this period.

As evidenced by the high home values, the residential market in the City is strong and significant demand likely exists for new, single-family residential development in the downtown area. There is also likely to be significant demand for multi-family housing in either condominium, townhouse or condominium products. Given the commercial nature of the Downtown, the Specific Plan area is one of the few areas in the City where multi-family housing is likely to be compatible with the surrounding land uses.

It is possible that new development could replace the older housing stock located between the Sport Chalet shops and the freeway. To effectuate any development in this area, it would be necessary to buy-out the current owner of the existing residential stock for

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